Welcome to Wrexham Season 5, Episode 7, “Touching Grass,” is a refreshing penultimate episode because it makes Wrexham AFC manager Phil Parkinson the main focus. It’s also fascinating to have an episode that addresses the noise around football air during the World Cup. With the beautiful game being the world’s greatest sport, there are so many voices to be heard – for better and worse. On the one hand, that communication can create community and inspiration. On the other hand, it can be detrimental and isolating.
Welcome to Wrexham is better when it looks at both sides of that coin. “Touching Grass” tries to do as much as it can with its runtime. Its thesis comes from co-owner Ryan Reynolds, who says, “Wrexham AFC is now and has always been a form of touching grass for me.” Then, Welcome to Wrexham can show how three walls of the Racecourse (The fourth is in the works!) become a place of togetherness. Those walls can’t really block out the noise, but they can elevate the voices that stand together for the club. “Touching Grass” dives into – more efficiently with some people than others – what it takes to maintain that foundation, from the coach to Wrexham AFC’s staff.
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A Manager’s Perspective
Given the season’s episode count and the ground it needs to cover, I assumed that the insight into Phil Parkinson’s mindset would be limited. Presumably, Welcome to Wrexham would explore his perspective in just one act to set up the point the episode circles back to. So, it’s really easy to enjoy the time that “Touching Grass” spends with him and the clarity it provides. Parkinson is usually a man of few, very precise words throughout the season. Welcome to Wrexham tends to focus on the Wrexham AFC players and community more than Parkinson. But, as the season (for the docuseries and the football) nears its end, there is renewed pressure on Parkinson’s shoulders.
There’s an impassioned dialogue around his capabilities and performance that is louder than ever as the club sits on the precipice of another historic promotion. Those wins and losses matter, of course, but it’s fascinating to watch what goes into them. There are all the meetings with his team or his conversations with players. It’s appealing to see his approach to coaching. It’s even more important to see how Parkinson cares for himself – no social media, does the work, exercises, and grabs coffee with friends. Just as with the players, it’s beneficial to see how Parkinson navigates all this pressure. Welcome to Wrexham pulls back the curtain and sees these people as, well, people.
It sounds incredibly simple, and it is. It also helps the episode’s retrospection on Parkinson’s career hit the necessary emotional beats. “Touching Grass” shows his growth and the lessons he’s learned as a player and, shortly after, a manager. His past makes Parkinson’s present perspective – addressing performance dips and rectifying them to recover – sharper. So, “Touching Grass” has a successful multi-act story anchored in Phil Parkinson.
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Wrexham Works Hard and Never Gives Up
It’s effective to hear from the players less in this episode. It makes it more impactful when they speak up, as Windass does before scoring. That sentiment extends to the players gathering together as a point of accountability and leadership. Seeing them do that is a brilliant reflection of Parkinson’s management. It’s also smart for Welcome to Wrexham to stay on the other side of the door for that meeting. It doesn’t matter what the players say to each other; that’s theirs. It’s about how they show up on the pitch.
Meanwhile, “Touching Grass” spends one act with the staff of the club. Parkinson’s sustained arc makes me wish that the episode spent more time with people like Katrina Jones and Mike “Whitey” White. Co-owner Rob Mac is justified in saying, “And when the noise gets loud, they [the staff keep us all grounded.” Therefore, it would be Welcome to Wrexham’s benefit to show that more. However, with an eight-episode season, it’s just a tough task. But the past shows that there is payoff when the docuseries spends more time with people. For instance, catching up with Archie White after a two-episode on-screen arc last season is really emotionally rewarding. It’s beautiful to see how well he’s doing and that he hasn’t lost his spark – or his love for Wrexham AFC.
The world of football is ever-changing, which Welcome to Wrexham is no stranger to exploring. So, the best beats come from those serialized stories and unforgettable characters. It comes through the staff who work at Wrexham AFC day in and day out, like White. It’s wild that Welcome to Wrexham is five seasons into its run, and it’s only now introducing someone as imperative as White, who has seen every square inch of that club. That alone proves how much goes into it all and supports this docuseries returning for three more seasons.
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